While it took me a while to brainstorm ideas for the other two, I knew without a doubt that for one of them, it would be fun to give a nod to the straightforward and always delightful French cheese ...

Gougeres (French cheese puffs) are made from pate a choux, a simple pastry dough used for making such treats as beignets and profiteroles. In the case of gougere, though, they go savory.

A bit on the savory side for a pastry, these gougères are greatly enhanced, for my tastes at least, with some Gruyere cheese and a hint of coarse sea salt on top. Easily frozen for future use, they ...